After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

"Ning Baixuan!"

Upon hearing this title, the seven or eight people in front of him stared at him, their lips slightly parted and their bodies seemingly stiffening.

Ning Baixuan?

Ning Baixuan, who wrote several famous poems such as "Cold and desolate" and "When will the moon be bright?", was even praised by Emperor Wenzong of the Northern Dynasties as "Gao Xiao" who was even better than him!

The short, fat man, Qing Zude, stared at him, his eyes darting around as he looked him up and down. "You are Ning Baixuan?" The short, fat man's tone was full of doubt and rudeness.

Ning Nan squinted slightly. Although both were fat men, Chu the Fat Man was not only taller than the fat man in front of him, but also much more polite.

Lian Zixing, a tall student who chimed in, stood next to Qing Zude, shaking his head and fanning himself with a fan, as if translating the short, fat man's words, repeatedly saying, "Strange, strange," and then shaking his head again, "I don't believe it, I don't believe it."

If you don't believe it, then you don't believe it.

Ning Nan was too lazy to pay them any attention.

Li Yanting raised an eyebrow, moved his lips, and tried to explain that this Ning Baixuan was the same Ning Baixuan.

Just as she was about to speak, she saw Ning Nan's indifferent attitude and couldn't help but purse her lips, feeling that there was really no need to explain.

What is false can never become true, and what is true can never become false; saying more is pointless.

Thinking of this, the students of Lijia Village couldn't help but feel a complex mix of emotions, including doubt, emotion, admiration, and even shock... Ning Motou, the fiercest boy in the village, was a talented poet. He was probably the first person to know that Ning Motou was a talented poet. When he was very young, around six or seven years old, and hadn't even learned many characters, he had seen this most unruly boy of his age, with Li Erlai on his left and Li Sanzhuang on his right, the three of them acting aggressively in the fields.

Little Ning, the devil, was holding a wooden stick and shouting something like, "Kill one man in ten steps, leave no trace for a thousand miles!" Li Erlai followed suit, swinging his stick and shouting viciously, "Kill, kill, kill!" Upon closer inspection, they found the three of them running around in the field trying to catch field mice to roast and eat, but the field mice were much more cunning than they were, and the three of them couldn't catch any no matter how hard they tried... Later, on another occasion, he even heard Little Ning mutter something like, "Once, drunk, I whipped a famous horse, but I fear that too much affection will burden the beauty."

There was no horse, of course. It was Little Ning, the devil, herding cattle for Fourth Grandma's family. He rode on the cow and whipped its rump with foxtail grass, but the force was pitifully weak, much weaker than the force of the cow's tail swinging...

Later, the more books I read, the more I realized how exquisite these fragments were... At the time, I thought this kid had secretly overheard Mr. Han reciting them. But recently, hearing about this person's growing reputation for talent, I suddenly realized that this kid had probably been secretly learning to write and compose poetry outside the private school since he was very young. He's been learning for so many years... and he still hasn't paid Mr. Han any tuition fees... It's really infuriating.

Senior Brother Feng, however, seemed completely unconvinced. He gracefully stepped forward to greet him, smiling broadly, and said, "So it's the renowned Ning Baixuan! Ning Gaoxiao! I've long admired you, but seeing you in person is far better than hearing about you. I am truly honored to meet you today!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yanting knew that Senior Brother Feng was truly happy. The story of "knowing Han Jing" comes from a poet named Li in the Tang Dynasty, who wrote the line, "I don't need to be enfeoffed as a marquis with ten thousand households, I only wish to know Han Jingzhou." Unfortunately, his official career was not successful, and he became disheartened and devoted himself to nature. He never wrote any more good poems, but this line has been preserved.

Ning Nan paused for a moment, then clasped his hands in a fist and smiled, "Brother Feng, you flatter me."

Li Yanting said calmly, "Well? Brother Ning, would you dare to have a game of martial arts with my senior brother?"

Although the others at Bailu Academy had some doubts about whether the young man in front of them was Ning Baixuan, they could only let it go since Senior Brother Feng didn't doubt it. The short and fat Qing Zude was even more annoyed that this person didn't pay much attention to him. He glared at Ning Nan and said in a sarcastic tone, "Some of the things that Dong Xuezheng said when he was young weren't entirely wrong, but he was talking about the wrong person, and he was talking about it twenty years too late."

Everyone laughed upon hearing this, knowing that Qing Zude was using the phrase "What use are poems and lyrics, but tea and brothels" to satirize Ning Baixuan in front of them.

Ning Nan glanced at the man, said nothing, but remembered him.

Pretending not to hear, he shrugged and laughed, "It's not that I don't want to play chess with Brother Feng," he pointed behind him with his thumb, "it's just that I'm neither a student of the Imperial Academy nor a student of any academy, and I don't have any guild hall sponsorship, so they wouldn't let me in..."

As he spoke, he turned around and exclaimed in surprise. At that moment, the waiter behind him had wide eyes, contracted pupils, and a deathly pale face. His legs were even trembling slightly... Uh? It seems we can go in now?

"Brother Bai Xuan,"

Just then, a warm and clear voice came from the side.

"You're really misunderstanding that young man."

Hearing that familiar yet somewhat repulsive voice, Ning Nan frowned and turned to see another large group of people approaching from the left.

About ten people came from the left, all dressed as scholars.

The leader was dressed in a blue robe with a valuable jade belt around his waist, and a smile played on his lips.

It was none other than Qin Yun, the eldest grandson of the Prime Minister of Qin, who had passed the provincial examination last year but had not yet participated in the metropolitan examination.

Ning Nan narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled, "Brother Qin, it's been a long time." He clasped his hands in a fist and smiled.

Qin Yun smiled and clasped his hands in a polite gesture, saying, "Brother Bai Xuan, it's been a long time."

Ning Nan glanced around and noticed that the dozen or so people following Qin Yun looked somewhat familiar. They should all be students from the Imperial Academy. Right now, these people were all looking at him, each with a different expression. Some looked admiring, some were indifferent, some were contemptuous, and others had a complex mix of emotions that were hard to decipher.

What caught Ning Nan's attention the most was a young man in white standing next to Qin Yun, even slightly ahead of him by half a body length.

The young man slightly raised his chin, put his hands behind his back, looked straight ahead, had an elegant demeanor, and was exceptionally handsome. He was truly one of the most handsome men. Not to mention the passersby on the street, even the old lady selling fried dough sticks on the roadside was secretly looking at this young man.

Qin Yun laughed and said, "Brother Bai Xuan, it wasn't this waiter's fault that you couldn't get into the Heavenly Gold Pavilion before... For example..."

He chuckled softly, pointed with his ivory-handled folding fan at the exceptionally handsome young man, and smiled at the waiter:

"Brother Er, my friend, like Brother Bai Xuan, is neither a student of the Imperial Academy nor a student of any academy, nor does he have any guarantor from any guild. I wonder if he can go in?"

The waiter was so anxious he burst into tears, his knees buckled, and he tried to kowtow: "Of course, of course, Your Excellency, I greet Your Excellency!"

A third-place scholar?!

Ning Nan and Li Yanting, along with other students from Bailu Academy, then realized what was happening.

It turns out that this handsome young man is none other than Wu Shangmei, the third-ranked scholar, who was personally selected by His Majesty last year!

"Hehe, Qing Youde greets Wu Tanhua!"

"Lian Zixing has met Wu Tanhua; it's truly rare, a rare sight indeed..."

"..."

In an instant, the students of Bailu Academy greeted Wu Shangmei. Even Li Yanting, though somewhat reluctant, bowed and clasped his hands to Wu Shangmei to announce his name.

Ning Nan frowned, but his back remained straight.

Wu Shangmei nodded slightly and said, "Greetings, everyone." The students of Bailu Academy were overjoyed and repeatedly said that Wu Shangmei was too kind.

At this moment, Wu Tanhua suddenly paused, his eyes widening as if he had seen something. Then his expression changed, as if a mixture of guilt, heartache, and reluctance had arisen in his eyes, and his gaze softened instantly.

He spoke with a slightly choked voice, "Junior Sister Gongsun, it's been a long time."

The students of Bailu Academy suddenly froze.

Ning Nan followed the other person's gaze.

Among the students of Bailu Academy, there was one who stood ramrod straight and did not bow to Wu Tanhua.

This person had phoenix eyes and a face like a peach blossom. Although dressed as a scholar, he could not hide his beauty. Ning Nan looked him up and down and found that he was actually a pretty young lady dressed as a man!

The young woman was dressed in a white scholar's outfit and held a folding fan in her hand. She showed no interest in the stunningly handsome Wu Tanhua.

She strode forward, coldly cupping her fists towards Ning Nan, and said, "Are you Ning Baixuan? And also Jia Songling?"

Ning Nan was taken aback.

The young woman, her voice clear and cool, clasped her hands in a fist and said, "My name is Gongsun Heng. If you would not mind, I would like to become your disciple!"